There are two times in your quit that it’s really important to be positive: while you’re preparing to quit and after you actually do quit.
Category: Quitting Smoking
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The Challenge
Have you gotten to the point where you wonder if it’s all worth it? Where life is just wearing you down and it seems like if one more thing happens you’re just going to go out and buy a pack and to hell with it? Do you feel like you have a lot of reasons to quit, but there’s a lot of reasons to smoke, too?
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Rituals
The night before I quit for the last time, I went outside at a few minutes before midnight and lit my last cigarette. As I smoked it, every time I took a puff, I repeated out loud, “This is the last cigarette I will ever smoke.” In between drags, I reminded myself that smoking was something I would not miss.
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Will I Have To Quit Drinking When I Quit Smoking?
Have you ever noticed that you always end up smoking more when you’re drinking? Are you worried that you’ll have to quit drinking when you quit smoking because you won’t be able to stop yourself from reaching for a cigarette whenever you have a few drinks?
This is an issue that many (if not most) smokers go through when they’re about to quit, and there’s good reason for concern: I can’t tell you how many quits I threw away over a few beers, and I know plenty of other smokers who could tell you the same story.
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Timeline for Quitting Smoking
No matter how old you are now, and no matter how long you’ve been smoking, quitting smoking now will give you some immediate benefits. For instance, you’ll have more money to spend on the good things (because you’re not throwing it away on supporting your addiction any more) and more time to do the things you want to do (because you’re not spending half your day smoking or planning how to get away to smoke).
Most importantly, your body starts to heal itself almost immediately after you smoke your last cigarette. I was 45 years old at the time I was diagnosed with emphysema, and I’d been at least a pack-a-day smoker for over 30 years by that point, and I can personally attest to many of the effects described below:
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